Method and System for Selective Sharing of Flagged Information in a Group Chat Environment

1. A method, performed in a computer system, for selective sharing of flagged information in a group chat session, comprising said computer system performing the steps of: generating a flag setting user interface object that enables a user to insert a visible flag in the transcript display area of an instant messaging user interface; wherein said flag setting user interface object further enables said user to select which other participants in said group chat session to share said visible flag with; inserting said visible flag into said group chat session in response to said user selecting a line of content within said transcript display area of said instant messaging user interface, wherein said visible flag visually indicates said selected line of content; and making said visible flag visible, both during and after said group chat session, only to said selected other participants in said group chat session, wherein said selected other participants in said group chat session are a subset of said participants in said group chat session.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: wherein said flag setting user interface further enables said user to select a priority to be associated with said visible flag; and associating said selected priority with said visible flag.

3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising: wherein said flag setting user interface further enables said user to select a visual representation of said visible flag from a plurality of flag representations; and generating said visible flag using said selected one of said plurality of possible flag representations.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising: generating a user interface display object that provides information regarding said visible flag, wherein said information regarding said visible flag includes said selected participants in said group chat session.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein said information regarding said visible flag further includes said selected priority.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein said information regarding said visible flag further includes a time at which said visible flag was set.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein said information regarding said visible flag further includes an identity of a participant that set said visible flag.

8. The method of claim 4 , further comprising: filtering a transcript of said group chat session based on said visible flag, wherein said filtering includes only displaying content from said transcript of said group chat session indicated by visible flags having the same priority as said visible flag.

9. The method of claim 4 , further comprising: filtering a transcript of said group chat session based on said visible flag, wherein said filtering includes only displaying content from said transcript of said group chat session indicated by visible flags set by the same participant that set said visible flag.

10. The method of claim 6 , further comprising: generating a to do list for a participant responsive to priorities associated with a plurality of visible flags set in said transcript of said group chat session.

11. A computer system including a computer readable memory, wherein said computer readable memory has stored thereon program code for selective sharing of flagged information in a group chat session, said program code comprising: program code for generating a flag setting user interface object that enables a user to insert a visible flag in the transcript display area of an instant messaging user interface; wherein said flag setting user interface object further enables said user to select which other participants in said group chat session to share said visible flag with; program code for inserting said visible flag into said group chat session in response to said user selecting a line of content within said transcript display area of said instant messaging user interface, wherein said visible flag visually indicates said selected line of content; and program code for making said visible flag visible, both during and after said group chat session, only to said selected other participants in said group chat session, wherein said selected other participants in said group chat session are a subset of said participants in said group chat session.

12. The computer system of claim 11 , further comprising: wherein said flag setting user interface further enables said user to select a priority to be associated with said visible flag; and program code for associating said selected priority with said visible flag.

13. The computer system of claim 12 , further comprising: wherein said flag setting user interface further enables said user to select a visual representation of said visible flag from a plurality of flag representations; and program code for generating said visible flag using said selected one of said plurality of possible flag representations.

14. The computer system of claim 13 , said program code further comprising: program code for generating a user interface display object that provides information regarding said visible flag, wherein said information regarding said visible flag includes said selected participants in said group chat session, said selected priority, a time at which said visible flag was set, and an identity of a participant that set said visible flag.

15. The computer system of claim 14 , said program code further comprising: program code for filtering a transcript of said group chat session based on said visible flag, wherein said filtering includes only displaying content from said transcript of said group chat session indicated by visible flags having the same priority as said visible flag.

16. The computer system of claim 15 , said program code further comprising: program code for filtering a transcript of said group chat session based on said visible flag, wherein said filtering includes only displaying content from said transcript of said group chat session indicated by visible flags set by the same participant that set said visible flag.

17. The computer system of claim 16 , said program code further comprising: program code for generating a to do list for a participant responsive to priorities associated with a plurality of visible flags set in said transcript of said group chat session.

18. A computer program product including a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, said a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code stored thereon for selective sharing of flagged information in a group chat session, said program code comprising: program code for generating a flag setting user interface object that enables a user to insert a visible flag in the transcript display area of an instant messaging user interface; wherein said flag setting user interface object further enables said user to select which other participants in said group chat session to share said visible flag with; program code for inserting said visible flag into said group chat session in response to said user selecting a line of content within said transcript display area of said instant messaging user interface, wherein said visible flag visually indicates said selected line of content; and program code for making said visible flag visible, both during and after said group chat session, only to said selected other participants in said group chat session, wherein said selected other participants in said group chat session are a subset of said participants in said group chat session.